Sanitary pillow



Aug. 7, 1928.

, 1,680,069 N. scHENK SANITARY PILLOW Filed Jari. 17, 1927 ZNVENTG BVMPatented Aug. 7, 1928A.

PATENT OFFICE.

NICHOLAS SCHENK, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSURI.

SANITARY PILLOW.

Application led January 17, 1927. serial No. ltttl?.

rlliis invention relates to a device that is intended to be used for thesame purpose as a feather pillow.

'lhe object of the invention is to provide a t sanitary pillow which isan improvement on the conventional feather pillow now in general use, inthatv it is of such construction that it will not cause the users headto perspire in hot weather; it is of such construe' lt tion that air cancirculate freely through same, thus keeping the users head cool, andpreventing the device from becoming heated or from absorbingperspiration from the userls head; it will support the users head in lta comfortable and natural position without liability of cramping theusers neck or subjectng it to a strain that causes discomfort; it isodorless, due to the fact that it does not comprise a filling offeathers, down to or similar material; it can be foldedcompactly andstored in a small space when not in use, and it can be manufactured andsold ata low cost.

' Briefly described, my invention consists of t a sanitary pillow orhead supporting dcvice that comprises a non-metallic portion, referablya piece of fabric of any preferred Eind on which the users head rests,and a resilient supporting means for said head e11- ao gaging portionconstructed so as to yieldingly suspend said portion between twoseparated oints, and permit said portion to havepracticallyl a universalmovement when in use. In other words, the fabric head engaging portionof the device and the resili ent supporting means that sustains same areso constructed and combined that when the device is in use said fabricportion will be capable of moving upland down in a vertical position, itwill be capable of moving laterally or sidewise in either direction alimited distance and it will also be capable of moving a slightldistance in a direction lengthwise of the users body. The result isthat when the device is in use the usershead is supported in acomfortable and natural position, and when the user rolls over or moveslengthwise of the bed, the fabric pol'- tion of the device will shiftbodily in the so same direction that the users head moves.

The resilient supporting means can be co nstructed from various kinds`of material; it

can be formed in one piece; it can be a builtup structure composed of aplurality of parts and it can be constructed entirely from resilientmaterial or partly from rigid material and partly from resilientmaterial. lt 1sv preferably constructed from a piece of thin sheet metaltempered so as to impart the required degree of resiliency to same. Theform or shape of said resilient supporting means can vary greatlywithout departing from the spirit of my invention, but it preferablycomprises a base provided at its opposite ends with upwardly-projectingarms that support or sustain the non-metall1c head engaging portion andwhich have suiicient flexibility or resiliency to flex sidewise orlaterally and also up and down a limited distance when the device is inuse. If desired, said resilient means can be formed from .a plurality ofresilient members of similar shape arranged in superimposed position, orin nested relation, so as to enable the user or owner of the device tovary the resilienc of same, by using .only one of said members when avery soft pillow is desired, and to use two or more of said members whenahard pillow is desired.

The non-metallic head engaging portion of the device can either consistof a single place of fabric, or a plurality of layers of fabric, andsaid portion can be combined with the resilient supporting means pre-`viously referred to in any preferred manner. For example, the headengaging portions can consist of `a fabric casing, inside of which theresilient supporting means is arranged;

it can consist of one or more layers of fabric stretched between theupwardly-projectinor arms of the resilient supporting means andconnected to said arms in any preferred manner either adjustably,permanently or detachably, or said head engaging portion can beconstructed from one or more layers of fabric stretched transverselyacross the ends of saidarms and downwardly over the sides of same andheld taut either by connecting the ends of said fabric portion togetheror connecting said portion to the base or to the arms of the resilientsupporting means.

Figure l of the drawings is a perspective view, showing one end of thenon-metallic head engaging portion of the device detached from theresilient supporting means.

Figure 2 is a perspective view, showing the two elements of the devicearranged in operative relationship.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the resilient supporting means beforeit is flexed into its normally operative position.

Figure 4 is an elevational view, illustrating how the'device operateswhen it is in use; and

Figure 4a is a detail view, illustrating the resilient supporting meansas being composed of a plurality of members arranged in superimposedposition or nested relation.

In the form of my invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive,the preferred resilient supporting means of the device consists of astrip A of thin sheet metal that is tempered so as to impart someresiliency to same and which is bent so that the intermediate portionEof said strip is bowed upwardly and the end portions of said strip arecurved slightly in the opposite direction to said bowed intermediateportion, as shown in Figure 3. The nonmetallic head engaging portion Bof the device is formed either from a single strip of fabric or from aplurality of thicknesses or layers of fabric, preferably a plurality oflayers of fabric that are suiiciently porous to permit air to circulatethrough same, and said portion is illustrated in Figure l as beingattached to a fabric casing a' inside of which the resilient member A isadapted to be arranged. To arrange the fabric portion B and theresilient supporting means A in operative relationship the strip ofmetal that constitutes said means A and which is arranged inside of thecasin is flexed into the position shown in Figure 2, thus causing theupwardly-bowed central portion of the strip A to assume the form of aflat base l and the curved end portions of said strip to assume the formof upwardly-projecting arms 2 at the endsof said base whose terminals orends curve inwardly slightly. After the fabric portion B of the devicehas been stretched taut transversely across the ends of the arms 2, thefree end of said portion B is secured to the free end of the casing at apoint under the base 1 of the resilient supporting meansA in anypreferred manner, as, for example, by means of hooks 3 on the free endof said fabric head engaging portion B that are hooked into eyes orloops 4 on the free end of the casing m. After the elements A and B havebeen combined in this manner a device will be produced that is capableof being used for the same purpose as a con-` ventional feather pillow,but which is a decided improvement on a feather pillow, in

that it is sanitary, it is cool in hot weather, it will support theusers head in a natural and comfortable position without subjecting theusers neck to a strain, and it can be stored in a small space when it isnot in use. The member A can be constructed in various ways and can haveany desired degree of resiliency, but it is preferable to construct saidmember so that it will resiliently sustain the fabric head engagingportion B, and the upwardly-projecting parts of said member A betweenwhich the portion B is suspended will be capable of flexing sidewisewhen the user rolls or turns over in the bed on which he is reclining,thereby permitting the fabric portion B to bodily shift laterally alimited distance with the users head as shown in Fig. 4. D ue to theresiliency of the arms 2, the fabric head engaging portion of the deviceis also capable of shifting bodily a slight distance in a directionlengthwise of the users body. In other words, a device of theconstruction above described comprises a porous fabric portion B forreceiving the users head, that is suspended between twoupwardly-projecting arms 2 on a flat base l, which arms 2 are resilientenough to permit the fabric head engaging portion B to have practicallya universal movement, i. e., a slight vertical movement towards and awayfrom the base l of the resilient supporting means, a slight lateralmovement relatively to the bed on which the user reclines and a slightmovement lengthwise of the bed.

It is immaterial how the resilient supporting means A of the device andthe fabric head engaging portion B of same are combined, and while Iprefer to construct said elementsso that they can be disassembledeasily, or taken apart, it is not absolutely essential that the devicebe constructed in this manner.

In instances where it is desired to produce a device that can be changedeasily to vary the tension of the resilient supporting means of thedevice, said means can be formed from a plurality of resilient membersA, A and A2 arranged in superimposed position or nested relation, asshown in Figure 4". If the user desires a soft pillow, only one of saidmembers will be used to sustain the fabric head engaging portion.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. A head rest composed of a supporting means comprising a relativelybroad strip of resilient sheet metal having an upwardly curvedintermediate portion and upwardly bowed end portions curved slightly inthe opposite direction to said curved intermediate portion, a flexiblehead engaging portion attached to one of said end portions, and meansfor connecting said head engaging portion to the other of said endportions 2. A` head rest comprising a relatively whereby theintermediate portion of said broad strip of resilient' sheet metalhaving strip is held in" a substantially horizontalintegral upwardlbowed arms at the ends 10 position and the end portions of said stripthereof and a exlble head engaging member in an upright position whenthe free end of attached. to the ends of said arms.

said head engaging portion is attached to the other of said endportions. NICHOLAS SCHENK.

